STEP
by VT233
Summary: What if Lily and Rufus happened before Dan and Serena initially met? Set before season 1, before boarding school and before Eric's incident.
1. Chapter 1

She wonders how many more times do they have to go through that again. How many more times does she have to dress up like the good girl she isn't, and go through small talks with a man she has to try and digest? Will her mother ever stop with this game or is she planning on ruining hers and her brother's life for good? She knew that her mom wasn't capable of living alone, she knew that she had to always have a man in her life because of some messed up thing that she can barely explain, but why does she and Eric have to go through change every couple of years? Or even sometimes every couple of months?

This time the news hit her hard, it was one thing for her mother to get married two months after her last divorce. But this time was different, different than all her four previous marriages. This time the husband had kids too and that was a first.

She mastered the whole stepdaughter thing, she would always meet the guy her mom is dating, make sure he knows she isn't his biggest fan, try to tolerate him as much as she could and ensure to close the door to her bedroom every time she steps in it so that she's always safe from anyone entering. Because Serena Van Der Woodsen always lives in the fear of one of her mother's husbands entering.

She has never been a stepsibling though, she's just used to being a sister to Eric who she would give her life to if he needed it but she can't even think of standing some other kids their age walking around the house like it's theirs. She can't imagine herself sitting on the breakfast table every morning with this boy and this girl that she has yet to meet and just share food and stories with them.

Serena was lost, she was so lost trying to know how to act and how to behave. Should she be rude to them or should she act like she's excited for them to be living together? She wondered how they would be. What if the boy was some pervert who would make her uncomfortable in her house? What if the girl was anything like Cinderella's stepsisters? Millions of thoughts were running through her head and she knew that in half an hour she would find out. They were going out to dinner together, a news that her mother thought wasn't important enough to tell her before so she just threw it in her face asking her to be ready in an hour. The blonde teenager honestly didn't know what to wear but she decided on going with something simple and not daring, unlike most of her clothes. She didn't want the father nor the son ogling her during dinner so the more she shows, the less they observe.

Serena tried her best to finish dressing as fast as she could so she could have some time to talk to Eric before dinner. She still hadn't gotten the chance to know what he thought about it. He's been acting a little bit weird lately and she failed to find out why and she was sure that kind of news wouldn't be easy on him. It always affected them both, but at least they had one another. Knocking two times at her little brother's door and hearing a soft 'come in', the old sister entered the room and took two steps before reaching her brother and helping him with the tie he was struggling with.

"Thank you" she heard him say in an unusual unexcited voice. He was never like that, of course she knew he wasn't as social as she was and much more shy, but not with only her around. She missed the easiness in his voice whenever they were talking with no one else there. She missed their bantering and their profound talks. She missed everything about her little brother and it killed her to see him this way. She was sure he was facing problems and was really bothered that he didn't seem to think that he can share them with her like always. Serena admits that she wasn't there all the time, often partying and going out, but the first time she noticed her brother's behavior changed she forgot everything else and spent much more time at home so she would be there if he ever needed her.

"You're welcome. So how are you?" she asked hoping he would at least be honest with her.

"Okay. A little weirded out to be honest. That is the first time we would be meeting a guy with kids and I think it's pretty serious so the house might soon be crowded"

"Yeah I agree, but don't worry about it us Van Derwoodsens can handle anyone and anything but hey don't go around loving your possibly future siblings more than me. Remember who used to get you out of trouble whenever you broke something at the house" Serena joked glad to see his mouth rising up a little. "Come on let's go, mom is probably waiting"

* * *

The two siblings couldn't hide their surprise when they entered the restaurant they were supposed to be having dinner at. They were used to more high class restaurants, ones that needed a reservation weeks before, but this, this was nothing like it and that was a first. They didn't know what to make out of it, if Lily's new lover wanted to be adventurous and try to eat at a place that most people eat at or if it was kind of a joke their mother was playing at them. A voice calling their mother cut their thoughts and they both looked towards it. No jacket, no tie, no cufflinks, no expensive watch, just a man wearing a black jeans with a white button up, his hair longer than any man they're used to see and that was a big surprise for them.

Following their mom, the pair stood closely to one another waiting for being introduced to the man that already caught their attention for being different, a person they've never imagined their mother going out with.

"So Serena, Eric this is Rufus." She said motioning to her then her brother. Rufus then turned towards the table where his two kids were standing awkwardly waiting to be introduced. He looked at them, then at the Van Der Woodsens.

"That is Dan, my oldest boy and Jenny the youngest one. Please sit so we all get to know one another better"

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 **Helloo guys! I missed writing and I've been having massive Derena feelings so I thought about this idea and wanted to know what you think about it.**

 **Please tell me what you think xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

"Brooklyn?" screamed Blair exasperated after hearing where Serena's mother newest adventure came from. "Seriously Serena, what the hell is wrong with your mom? I mean Brooklyn of all places?"

Serena smiled to herself, she and Blair were nothing alike when it came to criticizing people, she honestly didn't care about where he came from as much as she cared about the fact that they seemed pretty serious and he… no they may be moving in soon. The dinner yesterday went okay, Serena made sure she was polite to avoid any problem but she knew how to show that she wasn't ecstatic either. Rufus, her mother's new boyfriend, kept trying hard to make things as smooth as possible. He kept pointing about things in common between the kids. Apparently, she and Jenny shared the love for fashion. She draws designs and always aims to be as fashionable as possible. Dan on the other hand, she had nothing in common with, well apart from the fact that he goes to the same school she does which kind of surprised her because she had never seen him in her life. He seemed nice though, a little bit creepy but nice nonetheless. He didn't talk a lot, and when he did he rambled nonstop taking forever to come up with a simple sentence. Eric and Dan got along good, they talked about books and Serena was honestly glad to see her brother interacting with people.

Rufus seemed nice too, she didn't know if she should listen to Blair who was telling her she should investigate if he was after her mother's money. He didn't seem like the person who would do such thing, but then again you can't trust a person nowadays. Anyway, Serena didn't care what her mother did as long as she and her brother were safe, so if she wanted them to move in with them she didn't mind and she would make sure she closed her door at night just in case anything happened or anyone turned out to be something other than what they seemed to be.

"Yeah and his son goes to our school. His name is Dan Humphrey, do you know him B?" asked Serena.

"Umm… no, and even if I did I would never remember someone from Brooklyn" Blair stated with disgust visible in her voice. She felt really sorry for her best friend, she knew none of the families at the Upper East Side were that normal, but Serena's mother was different than all. She couldn't even imagine going through that much of change like her friend did every time her mother felt like it. Sure, Blair's parent fought like every day and every month and she hated that but at least she had them constantly. At least she didn't have to meet someone strange every other year.

"So yeah that's pretty much everything we learned about them. I think it won't be long before they move in with us. Apparently, my mom knew Rufus for some time now and they have been keeping it a secret so they see where they can go with this relationship before involving us with it." Serena got to admit that at least Rufus thought about them, because every other boyfriend and husband before him failed to even acknowledge their presence and didn't care about them in any way.

"Good luck S. I hope everything works out good for you and E, and I'm always there if you need some place to crash or if you need to talk" said Blair hugging her best friend and meaning every word she said.

* * *

"Yo Humphrey" Vanessa Abrams jumped from the window of Dan's room landing straight next to him on bed where he sat down writing on the little note book he carried around with wherever he went. "How was dinner last night?"

"Awkward, weird but okay I guess. I honestly don't know what to think about it Vanessa, I mean they're nothing like us, the older girl goes to my school but unlike me, she's not on a scholarship. And I swear to god the three of them were so confused by the fact that we were eating in a diner and not a five stars restaurant. You know how much I hate the snobs at my school and now my father is dating a woman from that world."

"That must suck for you. You're always telling me how much the kids in your school don't have a care in the world and who make a big deal out of a broken finger nail."

"Yeah exactly, Serena, the girl, must be getting into any university she wants to while I study day and night and may fail just because I'm not from their society. And can you believe how much of a hypocrite my dad is? Always lecturing me about being careful to blend with this kind of people and dating one of them. Oh yeah and guess what?" said Dan sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"What?" Vanessa was surprised, she's been friends with Dan for so long now and has seen him upset before, but she never saw him talk bad about his father.

"We're apparently going to move to the Upper East Side and live in their place. I mean, come on, isn't enough that we have to swallow the fact that our father's girlfriend is an elite, and now we should get along with her kids and share their home. I'm losing it Vanessa I swear." Dan Humphrey was an outsider and he was okay with it. He's been going to St. Jude now, had zero friend from there, and he was totally fine with that. He refused to be friends with the people in his school, he refused to have a single thing in common with them, though he saw it all. He saw the drugs exchanged silently in bathroom stalls, he saw people hooking up in the janitor closets, and how even caught every single student still remained in school after their parents made a donation.

"It's going to be okay Dan. I'm here for you" said Vanessa as she pressed his forearm showing her support.

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 **Chapter twoo after a long wait! So sorry for not updating sooner and I hope to have the next chapter ready soon:)**

 **Please tell me what you think, even if it's a bad revieww! Thank youu**


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